Democracy and the Market: Political and Economic Reforms in Eastern Europe and Latin America

Studies in Rationality and Social Change

by Adam Przeworski

The quest for freedom from hunger and repression has triggered in recent years a worldwide movement toward political democracy and economic rationality. Never have so many people experimented with democratic institutions. At the same time, traditional strategies of economic development have collapsed in Eastern Europe and Latin America and entire economic systems are being transformed on both continents. What should we expect in the countries that venture on the paths to democracy and markets? Will these transitions result in democracies or in new dictatorships? What economic system, new or old, will emerge? This major book analyzes recent events in Eastern Europe and Latin America, focusing on transitions to democracy and market-oriented economic reforms. The author underscores the interdependence of political and economic transformations and draws on extensive local data as part of his analysis. A distinctive feature of the book is that it employs models derived from politics, economics, and game theory. This book will be of particular interest to scholars and graduate students in political science and sociology.

Genres: Politics, Economics, Nonfiction, Political Science, Academic, Philosophy

228 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 1991

About the author

Adam Przeworski is the Carroll and Milton Professor of Politics and (by courtesy) Economics at New York University. Previously he taught at the University of Chicago, where he was the Martin A. Ryerson Distinguished Service Professor, and held visiting appointments in India, Chile, France, Germany, Spain, and Switzerland. A member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences since 1991, he is the recipient of the 1985 Socialist Review Book Award, the 1998 Gregory M. Luebbert Article Award, the 2001 Woodrow Wilson Prize, the 2010 Lawrence Longley Award, the 2010 Johan Skytte Prize, the 2018 Sakip Sabanci Award, and the 2018 Juan Linz Prize.. He recently published Why Bother with Elections? (London: Polity Press 2018).

Reviews

[J.R. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Argues that transitioning from authoritarian government to democracy is very difficult. Uses game theory to describe how political actors make outcome choices based on ranked preference and available information. Of the five possible outcomes in Przeworkski's model, only one results in democratic institutions being formed and consolidating. The author also connects how transitioning from communist command economies to capitalist market economies creates another layer of difficulty for Eastern Europe. His prediction in 1991 was that E. Europe would likely develop along the lines seen in Latin America. That is, democratic countries with weak institutions and capitalist economies that haven't resulted in disbursed resource allocation. The book was overall interesting to read and I think he is generally correct in his assertions. However, this book was published just before the collapse of the Soviet Union. I point that out because I think some of his periphery statements in chapter three regarding socialism would like have changed if he wrote it a year later.

[Din D]

recommend by Noah Feldman (Ferriss show)

[Will · Rating 3 out of 5]

Przeworski's book looks at the problems of transition to democracy, and how this can occur even when it is not in the interests of those making the decisions. Using rational choice analysis (game theory), he ranks the preferences of the different actors involved in the decision making process and establishes pathways to each potential result.